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Could Pluto be classed as a planet again ?

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Moonfire
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« on: March 08, 2016, 02:29:15 pm »

Could Pluto be classed as a planet again ?
Posted on Tuesday, 8 March, 2016


Should Pluto be classed as a planet or as a dwarf planet ? Image Credit: NASA
The discovery of what look like clouds on Pluto has reignited the debate over its dwarf planet status.
Once considered to be the ninth planet in our solar system, the distant world of Pluto was demoted by the International Astronomical Union to the status of dwarf planet ten years ago to put it more in line with the plethora of other small, icy bodies that had been discovered around that time.

After data from NASA's groundbreaking New Horizons mission started to trickle back to Earth last year however some scientists started to call in to question the IAU's definition of the term 'planet' and whether Pluto should have ever been stripped of its planetary status in the first place.

The case for its reinstatement would go on to strengthen even further after New Scientist published internal conversations between planetary scientists discussing whether or not some of the New Horizons photographs actually showed evidence of clouds floating in Pluto's atmosphere.

New Horizons principle investigator Alan Stern, who is a keen advocate of seeing Pluto reacquire its planetary status, maintains that it passes what he calls the "Star Trek test".

"When Captain Kirk turns on the viewfinder, the audience knows immediately if it's a planet or a star or simply an asteroid or small comet or something," he said.

"They don't have to do any math. You just look at it. This is what I call the Star Trek test. People know a planet when they see one, and I think that's a pretty darn good test, in fact, for planethood."

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/are-there-clouds-on-pluto-discovery-reignites-push-to-reinstate-planet-status-20160307-gnd4gu.html
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Moonfire
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« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2016, 02:31:44 pm »

Are there clouds on Pluto? Discovery reignites push to reinstate 'planet' status

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    March 8, 2016 - 11:45AM

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NASA unveils new Pluto images

New detailed images of Pluto were unveiled by NASA in October 2015.

Pluto just won't give up. The distant clump of rock smaller than our own moon seems to be making a renewed push to be recognised as a planet.

Ten years after the International Astronomical Union demoted it to one of the many dwarf planets orbiting the sun, some scientists think it just might have clouds.

    People know a planet when they see one, and I think that's a pretty darn good test, in fact, for planethood.
    Dr Alan Stern

New Scientist magazine has published conversations on an internal discussion list between planetary scientists wondering if images from September last year showed Plutonian haze or if they could be considered discrete cloud formations.
New Horizon images of Pluto with markings highlighting possible cloud formations.

New Horizon images of Pluto with markings highlighting possible cloud formations. Photo: NASA/JPL

On that list, Will Grundy, a scientist at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, said: "There's a few fairly localised low-altitude features just above the limb that I've drawn lame arrows pointing to, but also a few bright cloud-like things that seem to be above and cutting across the topography in the circled area."

Dr Grundy told Fairfax Media that he wished that discussion hadn't been made public at this stage.

"We haven't had a chance to convince ourselves it's real," he said.
Image of Pluto as captured by the New Horizon spacecraft last year.

Image of Pluto as captured by the New Horizon spacecraft last year. Photo: NASA

The head of the New Horizon mission that took the images of Pluto said they need to determine what the distinction is between clouds and haze.

"One way to think of it is that clouds are discrete features, hazes widespread," Alan Stern wrote on the discussion list, as reported by New Scientist.

Dr Stern is an advocate for Pluto to have planetary status. He has previously said that Pluto not only meets "geophysical planetary definition" but also passes the "Star Trek test".
The blue-tinged atmosphere of Pluto as taken by the New Horizon probe.

The blue-tinged atmosphere of Pluto as taken by the New Horizon probe. Photo: NASA

Dr Stern has told the US Public Broadcasting Service that "the Star Trek test is really simple".

"When Captain Kirk turns on the viewfinder, the audience knows immediately if it's a planet or a star or simply an asteroid or small comet or something.

"They don't have to do any math. You just look at it. This is what I call the Star Trek test. People know a planet when they see one, and I think that's a pretty darn good test, in fact, for planethood."
New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern of Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern of Southwest Research Institute. Photo: NASA

A spokesman for the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University is more reserved. "Pluto's atmosphere, including hazes, is complex - and scientists continue to analyse and discuss incoming data as part of the normal science process.

"As the team always does, we'll post an image feature just as soon as we have more analysis and consensus."

In October last year, NASA released photos showing that Pluto has blue skies and water.

The images were taken by NASA's New Horizon probe, which has since flown well past Pluto. However, Dr Grundy said they are still receiving data from New Horizons that will help them decide whether the Plutonian smudges are clouds or haze.
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« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2016, 02:32:56 pm »

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« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2016, 02:33:18 pm »

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« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2016, 02:33:39 pm »

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« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2016, 02:33:53 pm »

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« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2016, 02:36:01 pm »




The blue-tinged atmosphere of Pluto as taken by the New Horizon probe. Photo: NASA
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« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2016, 02:36:57 pm »



New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern of Southwest Research Institute. Photo: NASA
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